By Kindsey Bernhard
NKyTribune contributor
FRANKFORT — Newport Central Catholic had to battle until the end to defeat University Heights, 62-56, in the quarterfinal round of the Kentucky All “A” Classic boys’ state basketball tournament on Friday at the Frankfort Convention Center.
It was another tough test for the Thoroughbreds, who won the 9th Region final and their first state tournament game by close margins as well.
“I think the reason we have been in so many tight games recently is because of our schedule and our experience, and our preparation brings us a lot of confidence,” said NewCath head coach Ken Collopy.
NewCath (13-7) will play Russellville (15-7) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday. The winner will advance to the championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Thoroughbreds have a 4-0 record in previous All “A” Classic state championship games, winning titles in 2000, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The Thoroughbreds sealed Friday’s victory with clutch free throw shooting. Junior guard Brennan Hall made two foul shots to give his team a 58-56 lead with 1:19 left on the clock. In the closing seconds, senior guard Luke Moeves connected on four free throws to make it a six-point win.
Hall led NewCath in scoring with 26 points, hitting six of nine 3-point shots to account for most of his total. His team ended up shooting 50 percent (9 of 18) from behind the arc.
“I just kept shooting,” Hall said of his 3-point barrage. “The first one felt good, so I just kept shooting and they all went in. Well, most of them went in.”
Both teams shot 37 percent from the field — NewCath was 19-of-51 and University Heights was 23-of-61 — but the Thoroughbreds outscored the Blazers 27-12 from behind the 3-point arc and 15-6 from the foul line. NewCath also dominated the boards by a 42-30 margin. Moeves had 12 rebounds to go along with his 13 points.
“They were rebounding really well in the third quarter so toward the fourth quarter we had to step up and crash the boards even harder,” Moeves said. “They’re more athletic than us so it seemed the ball was always going towards them, so we had to really get after them.”
University Heights head coach Grant Shouse credited NewCath’s physical defense with holding his team well below its 75.7 scoring average coming into Friday’s game.
“They were getting up in us pretty good,” Shouse said. “You know, they did a really good job getting in the gaps to keep us from penetrating. It affected our shooting eventually.”
Turnovers were an issue early on for NewCath. The Thoroughbreds gave up the ball seven times in the first half and only five in the second half. Collopy said taking better care of the ball in the second half helped his team secure the win.
NEWPORT CATHOLIC 15 19 10 18 — 62
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS 15 17 14 10 — 56
NEWCATH (13-7): Hall 9 2 26, Spencer Pangallo 0 1 1, Stephen Pangallo 2 0 5, Moeves 2 8 13, Neff 1 3 5, Luken 2 1 5, McDaniel 2 0 5, Wurtz 1 0 2. Totals: 19 15 62
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS (11-11): Lovan 1 0 2, Taquan Hollowell 4 0 9, Tavlon Hollowell 5 1 11, Tandy 8 4 22, McGowan 5 1 12. Totals: 23 6 56.
Three-pointers: NC — Hall 6, Stephen Pangallo, Moeves, McDaniel. UH — Tandy 2, McGowan, Hollowell.